Ireland takes steps to modernise its anti-corruption regime
Ireland has published the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017 in one of the largest shake-ups of its anti-corruption legislation in decades. The bill, a key plank in a package of measures to tackle white collar crime, introduces new offences and tougher penalties. Unlike the existing anti-corruption legislative framework, which includes acts dating back to the 19th century, the bill targets the private as well as the public sector.
The bill introduces a new strict liability offence on corporate bodies, so they will be liable for the actions of directors, managers, employees or agents who commit a corruption offence for the benefit of the corporation.
A legitimate defence will be to prove that the corporate took all reasonable measures and exercised appropriate due diligence. ‘This means that companies and public bodies will need to develop and roll out anti-corruption policies and staff training to take account of the new legislative regime,’ says Pamela O’Neill, partner at Eversheds Sutherland in a briefing on the bill.
Another proposed new offence is that of ‘trading in influence’, which criminalises bribing a person who may exert ‘an improper influence’ on the decision-making of a public or foreign official. This will bring Ireland in line with the requirements of the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, as well as other international anti-corruption instruments.
Tougher penalties put forward in the bill include unlimited fines and imprisonment for up to ten years following conviction on indictment. The bill also allows the court the discretion to order that a public official found guilty of a corruption offence be removed from their public office or position.
The bill reached its second stage debate in the Dáil on 16 November and is expected to be published in summer 2018.
For more information on the bill see the Irish Department of Justice and Equality’s press release:
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PR17000392
